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Letter From The Editor

Summer isn’t completely over yet and we are already frantic about all of the stuff that is starting to show up as summer draws closer and closer to fall!

• We’re all ramping up for 4th quarter at our jobs.
• School starts for many children in just a matter of days.
• College freshmen are heading off and away from home – some of them for the very first time!

And then believe it or not, before too long stores will be putting Christmas holiday decorations on display!

And with this litany of changes coming our way, the stark realization that the lazy days of summer are coming to an abrupt end can be downright disappointing.

But the summer isn’t over yet, so I have to ask:

Have you done what you really set out to do this summer? Have you taken the time for you that you deserve? And if not, it isn’t too late, but it is time to get going. It is time to take care of you!

• Take the hike you’ve been thinking about.
• Sit and visit with your grandparents/parents.
• Color on the sidewalk with chalk with your children.
• Catch a jar full of lightening bugs and watch them glow after sunset.
• Communicate what you want to communicate to the people you love the most.
• Lay down in the new hammock you received for Father’s Day and do nothing.
• Make a difference where you want to make a difference.
• Take the time to do absolutely nothing!

Yes, the end of summer always comes too quickly, but the end isn’t here yet!

• You’ve still got time to savor a long lazy day or two with your kids before they go back to school…
• You’ve still got time to take in a long hike before your busy travel season…
• You’ve still got time to get energized and refreshed going into the last few months of the year…

But you’ve got to plan for it, commit to it, and ask for help where ever you need it most!

We all have so much going on in our lives that it is easy to push ourselves… our wants and needs… to the bottom of the pile of “things to do”, and only you can change how you prioritize “taking care of you”.

Remember: you are the only person who has a say in how your life turns out. So, what do you say… better yet, what do you CHOOSE?

Best Regards,

Clay S. Nelson

Appreciation… It goes along way!

When we were kids in school, we celebrated Valentine’s Day by each of us making a large, heart-decorated bag and hanging it on our desks as a valentine receptacle. We put our heads down to prevent peeking, and then the teacher sent our fellow students, a row at a time, to put valentines in our bags. Occasionally, a valentine had candy attached to it (we all peeked!), and we were delighted. We always hoped for candy.

We all look grown up now (and some of us actually are), but we're still hoping someone will give us candy—and not just on holidays. As adults in the workplace, our candy shows up as “appreciation.”

Employment surveys show that appreciation ranks at the top of what employees want from work. When employees leave their jobs, often they participate in exit interviews. Those exit interviews reveal that many employees decide to leave because they don’t feel valued or appreciated. As leaders of our organizations, we should be aware that even when everything is going well in our organizations—it isn’t the time to just sit back. The employees who are making everything work well need to be appreciated and acknowledged…and often. When things aren’t going as best as they could be at work – for example: when business is down and you can’t afford to give your team their annual raise, that’s the time when appreciation is needed even more!

How do you say “thank you” to people without whom you’d be lost? Be specific, base your comments on behavior you have witnessed, and make sure you acknowledge the action soon after it occurred. Appreciation doesn’t have to take long.

Suppose you overhear your employee dealing effectively with a difficult vendor on the phone. When the employee gets off the phone, ask if you can speak to them for a minute. Say something about what you saw and why you liked it. “I overheard the way you handled that vendor on the phone. I really admire your patience and the way you explained the situation to the vendor simply, but not in a condescending way. That went a long way toward enhancing the public impression of our company. Thank you!” This kind praise costs nothing, takes little time, and will absolutely make an employee’s day! Catch your employees doing something right!

Appreciation is best expressed spontaneously and personally. Don’t delegate to someone the job of expressing appreciation on your behalf. Do it yourself!

Words of praise often suffice, and it is also nice to show appreciation in tangible ways—time off with pay, a trip to the spa, a free parking space, tickets for an event the person would enjoy, books or things related to a specific interest or hobby, gift certificates for luxury items or experiences, or even cash. Avoid unimaginative gifts like flowers or candy or, even worse, gifts that relate to work. A shiny new filing cabinet or vouchers for computer training classes might seem appropriate at the time to you, but these ideas won’t really land on your team with the “I really appreciate you” effect you mean to communicate!

If you do give a gift, “wrap” the gift in your words of appreciation. Think about what the person does for you, the team, and your organization. Say your “thank you” face-to-face with a warm attitude and a smile!

Showing your appreciation costs very little, if anything, and the dividends you and your team member receive will pay for some time to come. So, ask yourself if you’ve put “candy” in your employees' bag lately. If not, get going, and don’t be stingy!

Creating a Home Office That Works for You

In today’s economic crunch, more and more of us are looking for ways to cut back on our expenses, and an ever increasingly popular way to do so is to work from home. Now as glamorous as that may sound, there are some things you need to consider and plan for carefully in order to make the jump to a home office a successful one.

Although you may think you have your dream office firmly in mind, consider brainstorming again, coupled with writing a plan for your office. By writing a plan, you’ll find out what you may have overlooked or don’t know about creating an office that is best suited to your needs. So, here are some tips to get you started.

• What is your budget? Considering that your move to a home office may be about saving money, you’ve got to be realistic about what amount of investment makes sense.
• With the budget in mind, think about what you need to succeed. Separately list your “needs” from your “wants”, in case your budget is limited. Add your “needs” first, and then create a plan to add the “wants” when you are able.
• Check out the laws. Are there any zoning restrictions that would prohibit your having a home office? If not, do you need a business license from your local government to operate your home office?
• Is the room in your home you are thinking of transforming really the best room for the job? Some people think in terms of an upstairs bedroom or another room tucked away from the regular household activities, but what is best for your needs? If you will be seeing clients at your home office you may not want them traveling through your entire house to reach it. A successful home office may mean transforming your existing living room into a separate office area (by adding a glass block wall, for example) rather than using an extra bedroom. Your comfort is important. Does your office have sufficient lighting? If you plan on being seated a great deal of the time, invest in a chair built to give you maximum support.
• How will your family members deal with your working from home? Do you have arrangements for child and pet care? Will your clients want to interact with Rover or will they be uneasy? If Rover is used to being part of your household, he may react to banishment to the garage with insistent and incessant barking… not exactly the background noise you want when meeting in person or on the phone!
• Don’t skimp on necessary technology—computer hardware, software, data storage, and peripherals, like scanners, shredders, or a fax machine. Reliable and effective tools are key to your success. Consult an expert and get them on your team to help you make the best decisions regarding your home office equipment. You’ll need them on your team in the future too, when even the best of equipment goes awry!
• Closely tied to the issue of technology are your communication needs. Shop around and compare. What kind of messaging service and phones do you want? Cordless, pager, cellular, multi-line, or speakerphone? Who is the most reliable cable or DSL Internet access provider? Don’t tie up your phone lines with your computer usage!

Remember, a commitment to a home office is a commitment to a professional atmosphere and quality work product. If you find yourself apologizing to clients for time-wasting things like “I can't seem to open your document” or “I'm sorry my six-year old didn’t tell me you called”, your success is going to be limited at best! So be sure and consider all of the possibilities, have a plan, set the ground rules, and enjoy your stress free commute to your new home office.

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